It was the role that thrust her into the limelight and won her a haul of awards both here and across the Atlantic.
But after two seasons on The Crown, Claire Foy said she was happy to leave the show and ‘ended’ her role as Queen Elizabeth II to preserve her own ‘sanity’.
The British actress, 39, who originated the role of the late monarch in the critically-acclaimed show, said once the decision to step away from the show was made, she ‘let it go.’
Ms Foy, who won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the portrayal, left the programme at the height of its success and was succeeded by Olivia Colman.
‘I’ve got a lot of love for the people who are still doing the show, but for my own sanity, I ended the show when I ended it,’ she told People magazine.
After two seasons on The Crown , Claire Foy said she was happy to leave the show and ‘ended’ her role as Queen Elizabeth II to preserve her own ‘sanity’
The British actress originated the role of the late monarch in the critically-acclaimed show
‘I let it go and moved on and I think that’s quite healthy.’
Despite her desire to move on from the glossy Netflix hit, it seems that she hasn’t been fully able to leave it behind her after a flashback cameo last year and a forthcoming one in the final episodes.
She previously said that while she was ‘really, really proud’ of the role that she won in 2016, she was keen to move on in her career.
‘I don’t feel like I’m defined by playing Queen Elizabeth,’ she said after stepping down in 2017.
‘It’s a huge honour that people liked that character and therefore see me as that character. So, I’m not trying to actively go against that.’
She added: ‘My career is only for me, really. I can’t do it for anybody else and so the choices and decisions I make are purely based on what I want to do. That’s it really. It’s a really selfish thing.’
The actress has since starred in a number of hit big screen films including playing Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web and Neil Armstrong’s wife Janet in First Man.
All Of Us Strangers dominated the competition at the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday (L-R) Jamie Bell, Graham Broadbent, Andrew Scott, Sarah Harvey, Andrew Haigh and Claire Foy
She stars in the forthcoming All of Us Strangers, opposite Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, which is tipped for an Oscar nomination.
Ms Foy starred opposite Matt Smith as Prince Philip in the first two seasons, followed by Ms Colman and Tobias Menzies and now Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce.
Each star has played their role for two seasons before being replaced by older actors and actresses to continue the story a few years on.
The final episodes of the show will be released on Thursday and follow Prince William and Kate Middleton’s blossoming romance and the aftermath of Princess Diana’s tragic death.
